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If you have never consigned anything before, here are a few tips for what to expect when bringing your items in for the very 1st time.

It is seasonal

Almost all buyers that come into the store are looking for something to wear right now, or for an event within the current season. I wish we had the space to store fabulous winter items that come in during the summer, but unfortunately we don’t.

Every item we accept will go out on the floor immediately. So bring in your shorts and sundresses during the summer months, and leave your velvets and woolens for the winter months.

There are however certain times of the year where we are a little ahead of the season, e.g. we stop taking summer items at the end of June, and then start taking fall items in July when it’s still 100 degrees outside. That’s because we start our end of season summer sale in July just like all the department stores. Same thing at the end of December- we stop taking winter items right before Christmas and start taking spring items after the 1st of the year.

Items must be prepped and on hangers

The most successful consignors are the ones whose clothing items are the most well taken care of.

However tempting it is to simply take the items you no longer wear or want out of your closet, throw them in a box or bag, and into your car to haul away, it just doesn’t work like that on our end.

Our goal is take everything we think we can sell and get it out on the floor the same day. So everything needs to come in ready to sell. Clothes need to be freshly cleaned or laundered and wrinkle-free. They need to look and smell nice. No loose threads, holes, missing buttons. No dirty labels on the inside of the collar.

Shoes need to be polished, and wiped clean inside.

Check all the compartments and zipper pockets in your purses for stuff, and remove it before bringing them in. Wipe out the inside of the purse.

Check all the pockets in your jackets. If there are old tissues in them, then the jacket needs to go into the washing machine before bringing it for consignment.

Don’t throw your clothes away! Way too many items go into the landfill every day that could be salvaged and repurposed. Nearly 100% of textiles and clothing are recyclable. However, textile waste is estimated at approximately 15 million tons per year in the USA. Only 15% of consumer used clothing is actually recycled.

There are a multitude of options for clearing them out in more eco-friendly ways.

Consignment-call your local consignment stores and find out what they are looking for. Most of them are looking for current styles and seasonally appropriate items, and take them on a consignment basis. Some buy them outright and will take all seasons. Consignment takes the most upfront preparation in order to bring the items in ready to sell, but you will get more money per item than for most other options.

Have a garage sale-if you have a lot of items, both clothing and household, it might make sense to have a garage sale to get rid of the most items all at one time.

Consign them online-tradesy and poshmark are just two of the online consignment sites that you can check out to see if your items are in demand.

Thrift stores-if your clothing isn’t current, or in great condition, bring them to one of your local thrift stores that take clothing and household items on a donation basis. This way you can still get a tax write-off for the items you give away, and will be supporting a local non-profit organization at the same time.

Repurposing-are you crafty, or do you know someone who is? Reuse your old sweaters to make a blanket or a pillow cover. There are a million pinterest boards to give you inspiration on how to re-purpose clothing items.

Local recycling programs-before you throw those old pillow covers, underwear or any other kind of textile (including scraps) into the garbage can, find out where you can take them locally to be recycled, or if you can put them into your curbside recycling bin.

Bra recycling-there is a great organization called The Bra Recyclers that will take used bras and pass them on to women who need them, or recycle them into other useful items.

Recycling your clothing is an important piece of conserving our natural resources. Just think of the impact if we all did this.

In support of Breast Cancer and Domestic Violence Awareness in October, The Bra Recyclers are offering us an opportunity to participate in a different way-by recycling used and unused bras. This is an economical and environmentally friendly way to assist women nationwide that are breast cancer survivors or transitioning from domestic violence situations.

Your closet will look much neater and more organized if you use just one kind of hanger, e.g. all wood or all plastic. I personally love the velvet huggables. They are such space savers, too. My closet looks so organized!

Did you know that California is the only state in which it is illegal to put batteries in the trash? And that’s any kind of battery, single-use or rechargeable. Batteries contain hazardous materials, and should by no means end up in the landfill. Find an HHW (Household Hazardous Waste) facility near you and drop them off. Or find a mail-in program. There are many websites that promote safe battery disposal. Here are just a few: